Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

There is a concern in regard to the speech. In plain English, the Minister of State is saying we cannot do this now because we do not know what will happen to the powers and functions of local authorities. That will create concern. We need to see a deepening of democracy. One of my concerns is that powers are being taken away from local councillors, which I saw at first hand as a local councillor, while at the same time the Government is paying lip service to deepening democracy. One cannot have both at the same time, so which will it be? I am very concerned about the comments on this issue.

To return to the issue of reform and the legislation before us, anyone who has been a Member of this House for a number of years will know that it is lacking in credibility among the majority of the population. When we began this Seanad term in 2007, we had speeches for the first day on how the Seanad needed to be reformed.

In the past 30 years there have been a dozen reports which have referred to how the Seanad could be made more fit for purpose and more relevant and how it might reflect the composition of modern Irish society. However, the Government has done nothing to try to make the House more relevant or improve the way it operates. It is somewhat ironic that the party which is calling for the abolition of the Seanad has brought forward legislation which is designed to extend the franchise. As stated, however, the Labour Party is happy to support the Bill. It is of the view that attempts should be made to try to reform the Seanad before the final step of abolishing it is taken. At this point we are wondering if reform will ever be undertaken. The Green Party - Fianna Fáil's partner in government - has for many years referred to reforming the House, but it has done absolutely nothing in that regard during the lifetime of this Parliament. The concern is that the Government will not introduce any measure to improve the situation.

There are more things wrong than right with the House, which is an unfortunate statement for any Member to have to make. For some time the Labour Party has been suggesting the franchise should be extended. I would like it to be extended to people who are 16 years or older, regardless of whether they have had an opportunity to attend university. I do not believe we need to retain that form of elitism. I would welcome a number of fundamental changes to the way the Seanad is structured and I am disappointed that the Green Party and Fianna Fáil have not yet introduced such changes. If elected to serve in government, the Labour Party will certainly bring forward proposals in this regard. However, that eventuality may be some time in coming to pass. In the interim, we are happy to support the Bill brought forward by Fine Gael.